Vacationing Clintons Hear Sermon of Rest
President Clinton attended services Sunday at an open-air tabernacle and promptly became a convert of the minister, who stressed the need to balance work and play, “even if you’re the President.”
Clinton, on the second full day of his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, later had breakfast at a restaurant with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea and then went directly to a golf course.
The Clintons sat in the first pew of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Assn. tabernacle, a 59-year-old religious camp that has a permanent circular roof and open sides.
More than 500 people crowded toward the front, prompting the Rev. Edward Vander Hey to joke: “This is the first time I’ve been in church and watched it fill up from the front to the back.”
Vander Hey delivered a sermon that stressed the need to balance the pressures of work with time to relax.
“None of us are too important to take a vacation . . . no matter how important we are. Even a President needs to take some time off,” the minister said.
The President didn’t waste any time before taking Vander Hey’s advice. He drove directly from church to the Farm Neck Golf Club, changing into golf clothes in the clubhouse.
Clinton, as he stood at the first tee, admitted being inspired by the minister’s dispensation. “Yeah, I needed that,” he told reporters with a grin.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
